AHA Time + CGDC
︎An open call for entries.
A CALL FOR VALUES
In collaboration with The Chicago Graphic Design Club, AHA Time invites you to submit a visual response to our Call For Entries centered on the values of our time.
This is an opportunity to shape culture and spark a conversation that challenges how we see ourselves and the world. Your submission can have a profound impact not only in the creative world but also in the lives of individuals and communities.
To participate, select a value (on the submission form) that speaks to you and translate your thoughts and feelings into a meaningful visual expression. You’re welcome to use any visual medium for your submission, that includes photography, collage, digital, 3D, typography, etcetera. Please refrain from using copyrighted imagery.
Submissions will be featured in a virtual gallery on our website and at a gallery exhibition sometime in 2026.
This is an opportunity to shape culture and spark a conversation that challenges how we see ourselves and the world. Your submission can have a profound impact not only in the creative world but also in the lives of individuals and communities.
To participate, select a value (on the submission form) that speaks to you and translate your thoughts and feelings into a meaningful visual expression. You’re welcome to use any visual medium for your submission, that includes photography, collage, digital, 3D, typography, etcetera. Please refrain from using copyrighted imagery.
Submissions will be featured in a virtual gallery on our website and at a gallery exhibition sometime in 2026.
KYLE EERTMOED
Courage
I chose the value of courage because my last name, Eertmoed, translates to “honors courage” in Dutch (eert moed). To me, courage is not the absence of fear but the willingness to move forward in spite of it. Fear shows up often in my line of work, launching before it feels perfect, letting go of what’s familiar, saying something bold and true. I’ve learned that fear doesn’t always mean stop, it often just means “I haven’t done this before.” This piece is both personal and professional. A reminder to honor courage by feeling the fear and doing it anyway.
CONTRA.DIBA
Self-Awareness,
Critical Thinking
A major part of growing is recognizing the difference between one’s wants and needs. The pursuit of what you want can be destructive and accepting the loss of it is actually what will help live a happier life.
SEAN FERMOYLE
Joy
Seeking joy in the everyday chaos of life is essential (and one of my values) because it grounds you in what truly matters. Life will always be messy—full of deadlines, detours, and demands—but joy reminds you to pause, breathe, and notice the small wonders hiding in plain sight. It transforms ordinary moments into sources of strength and helps you navigate uncertainty with resilience. By choosing joy, you don’t deny the chaos—you simply decide to carry light through it.
CRISTINA BOTTÍA
Resilience, Honesty,
Self-Awareness, Integrity
This piece is an exploration of an emotional journey, of the process of sadness turning into hope. Through the use of light and shadow symbolizing inner transformation. The surrounding phrases express belief in change, resilience, and emotional healing. A reminder that pain is temporary, and growth is possible. There is growth within hardships.
CARLOS SEGURA
Image Obsession
The struggle for finding yourself has been distorted. We search for happiness thru other's perceptions and we value things and actions that are empty. My hope is that we turn the corner soon and discover our individual, unique, delicate and brief moment of existence in our natural world.
CARLOS SEGURA
Image Obsession
Be you. That’s it.